Alastair Mitchell

15th September 2007.

East Jerusalem.

I spent the morning practising for the informal concert this afternoon, then met Ata at the conservatory who took me over to Ramallah. We arrived quite early so took a wander along the main street and saw a few of the shops and restaurants – a lot of places are closed due to Ramadan at the moment so we didn’t see quite as much as normal, but it was very worthwhile nonetheless.
On the way, Ata was explaining the geography between Jerusalem and Ramallah. As far as I understood, no one is sure where the West Bank begins and ends. When leaving Jerusalem you pass Qalandiya checkpoint.

After the checkpoint there’s no constant Israeli military presence, although they do go in from time to time, but Jerusalem continues for maybe a mile or so past the checkpoint – all the residents there have Jerusalem IDs. Because of this, the Palestinian Authority have no presence here either, so it seems to be a bit of no-mans land, and an un-policed one at that. Then totally without sign of change, Ata announced that we were entering Ramallah – I asked him where exactly Ramallah begins and he reckoned that nobody knows that kind of thing either. So as far as the Israeli military is concerned, the West Bank begins at Qalandiya, for the residents with Jerusalem IDs on the West Bank side it begins at the point in the road where Ata pointed out our entry into Ramallah, and for those in Ramallah, I can’t say. All I know is I don’t think I understand what I’ve just been writing about – my consolation is that I don’t think anyone else does either. What a state of affairs!
After the concert tonight, we had a Ramadan feast in the garden of the conservatory. Although obviously I’m not fasting, I was starving anyway (as usual) so the food was very welcome. I do miss having a drink though, to me it seems such a shame to put on a spread like that with no wine or beer – maybe I’ll get used to it.
No plans for tomorrow, I might call one of the other teachers, but as it’s Ramadan there really is very little to do. I also feel like practising at the moment so maybe I’ll aim for a day of productivity. Watch this space!

East Jerusalem.

The journey to Bethlehem this morning was fine, though still no private traffic is allowed along Sultan Suleiman Street. The increased presence of the police and military continues, with me walking past three temporary roadblocks between my house and the city centre.
I taught some of the students there for the second time, and there was a mixture of results from their last lessons, but one or two very encouraging students. I enjoyed a shawarma from a really good place, and this could become somewhat of a sanctuary for me over the next month, as it feels too rude to eat or drink in public during Ramadan, so I’ll be going without while I’m in Jerusalem. Bethlehem being an outwardly Christian town is not as a whole in observance of the fast.
When I got back to the Jerusalem branch I was told that it’s now final that I will teach three days in Jerusalem and two in Bethlehem. We’ll wait to see if that is what happens, but it’s a result that I’m happy with as it makes my decision as to where I’ll live easy. If things do turn out that way, then I’ll live in Jerusalem and travel to Bethlehem just twice a week.
I went for my second haircut here so far and managed to convince Bashir to leave out the styling of the hairline and sideburns so I’m back to my usual self now.
Tomorrow there is an informal concert by and for the teachers, held in Ramallah. I had hoped to do a little piano trio by Hans Werne Henze called Adagio Adagio, as it’s very short and I think very beautiful but the music hasn’t arrived in time, so I’m resorting to the quintessential fall back of all violinists and playing a movement of solo Bach. I’m quite looking forward to it – it’s been a while since I’ve performed anything solo at all, so should be a nice change.
Being British, obviously I can’t go too long without mentioning the weather again, so here goes - the clouds that had begun to appear last week have gone again and therefore it’s back to long hot days. I have to say, I do love it like this.

East Jerusalem.

On this day in 1993, Arafat and Rabin shook hands on a ‘peace deal’. Here is how it was reported by the BBC, at the time…

“The Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, and the PLO leader, Yasser Arafat, have shaken hands before cheering crowds on the White House lawn in Washington.
The handshake - the first ever in public between the two former arch enemies - marked the signing of a Declaration of Principles for peace between the Arabs and Israelis.
Under the terms of the deal, Israel has agreed to withdraw its troops from Gaza Strip and West Bank by April 1994. Elections will be held in the territories to allow the Palestinians some form of self-government. A deadline for a final settlement has been set for February 1999.”

I’m not sure how I feel about this, reading it 14 years later. Is it simply regretful that things didn’t work out, or was it wishful thinking? Either way, it didn’t happen and that is a great pity, for everyone involved.
At the end of the first day of Ramadan, the mood here is excitable. Last night I walked over to Borderline, the bar near the conservatory, and there were a lot of people hanging around. It seemed like a cross between an average Friday night in Britain (if you can imagine such a thing without alcohol) and a special occasion such as New Year. All day the Muslim population ate, drank and smoked nothing until the sun went down, and now it sounds like a cross between a party and a war. There are many loud bangs, from the firecrackers being set off now that the breaking of the fast is finished. As I walked home from the city, the Israeli Police weren’t letting any traffic except buses along Sultan Suleiman Street, which leads from the direction of the area where I live (At-Tur) into the city centre along the northern edge of the Old City. In general, there has been an increased presence of the police over the last 36 hours or so.
I’m going to Bethlehem first thing tomorrow, and hopefully the way will be clear, but the combination of Ramadan as well as the Jewish New Year means the checkpoints may well be slower than normal, I’ll need to leave plenty of time.
On the subject of time, one strange consequence of the independence of the Palestinian Authority is that the West Bank changes the clocks to wintertime a few days before Israel, so tomorrow’s journey of about five kilometres will take me across a time zone. It’s just symbolic I suppose, as it’s one of the few things that the PA actually controls.